The Shining: Chapter 56 Summary & Analysis

Hallorann hears the elevator pass the lobby and go down, and he senses that something is inside it. Then, Danny runs down the stairs, frantic. Wendy runs to him, every part of her body screaming in agony. Danny’s voice enters Hallorann’s head. We have to get out, he says. Hallorann has visions of the Overlook in flames and understands. He tells Wendy they must get out, but she isn’t dressed. Danny runs up the stairs, and Wendy asks what they will do if “he” comes back. Hallorann asks if she is talking about Jack, and Wendy says that Jack is dead.

It doesn’t take Wendy long to put it together either, and she asks Hallorann if the boiler is going to blow. That is what Danny says, Hallorann confirms. Wendy is glad, as long as they can make it out. Hallorann promises that they will make it, but he thinks about the animal topiaries and doesn’t really know. Danny comes back with their coat and gloves. He has Wendy’s boots, too, but not his own. They are running out of time, he says.

Hallorann receives an image of the clock under the glass dome in the ballroom, which was a gift to the hotel from a Swiss diplomat in 1949, and it is one minute to midnight. They are out of time, he thinks, and pulls Wendy and Danny toward the door. Wendy screams out in pain, but Hallorann keeps going. He can sense the explosion building below and runs for the doors.

In the basement, the thing that was Jack Torrance runs to the boiler, which is glowing red and groaning. The needle of the pressure gauge is buried in the red. He must stop it, the thing thinks. It hits the damper with Jack’s hand, and the boiler rocks and spits steam The needle on the gauge begins to fall. “I WIN!” the thing yells in celebration, and then the boiler explodes.

Hallorann runs out the front doors of the hotel and sees the animal hedges situated between the hotel and the snowmobile. At the exact moment of this realization, the boiler explodes. To Hallorann, it seems as if everything happens “all at once,” but he knows this isn’t possible. He flies through the air with the blast and lands in the soft snow. He doesn’t think about Danny or the hedges; he lays there and watches the Overlook burn.

The windows shatter, and the glass dome over the clock in the ballroom cracks. The clock stops. In room 217, the bathroom breaks in half and foul green water spills out. The walls in the Presidential Suite burst into flames, and the batwing doors to the Colorado Lounge burn and fall to the floor. The boxes in the basement ignite. Soon, the entire hotel is engulfed in flames, and the Overlook can be heard shrieking “No! Mustn’t! Mustn’t! MUSTNT!” The party has ended.